OpinionRight Field: American media's hackneyed narrative about Pacquaio ignored Mayweather's own harsh upbringing
Western media obsessed about stories of impoverished Philippines and blackouts while ignoring Mayweather's upbringing
It's all about the convenient narrative. Manny Pacquiao, who fought Floyd Mayweather Jnr in the "Fight of the Century", hails from the impoverished and hard luck Philippines. It's a place routinely ranked the most corrupt country in Asia, which is no small feat when your continental kin are Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. More than 25 per cent of the country lives in abject poverty - in the outlying provinces that figure is over 50 per cent. This we know.
In fact, in the Western world this is basically all we know about the Philippines, so for the sake of expediency the US networks would like to follow up on the story about how officials are asking the country to turn their refrigerators off so they can make sure there will be no power outages during the big fight. Great story, huh? Yeah, sure.
In the city of Puerto Princesa, in the remote island province of Palawan, officials have indeed asked residents to conserve energy during the fight. There are 200,000 people living in Puerto Princesa and 100 million living in the Philippines. But, apparently, the entire nation is being asked to conserve, so let's run that.
We want to know about the time Pacquiao ran away from home as a child because his father ate his dog. That's a real story
No mention yet if the networks are interested in what steps residents in Grand Rapids, Michigan, or New Brunswick, New Jersey, will be taking to ensure there are no power outages.
Mayweather grew up in the woefully impoverished neighbourhoods of both places and his youthful memories are indelibly etched in his conscious. "The things I saw in Jersey, I'll never forget," he told Rolling Stone three years ago. "Buildings that smelled like urine, no lights in the stairwell. There were seven of us sleeping in a one-bed apartment, no heat, no hot water, no nothing."
No, sorry, there won't be time for that story today. Let's try to concentrate on places that actually have electricity, like Puerto Princesa, and leave New Jersey out of this. The US networks would also like to know what steps are being taken by the authorities in the Philippines to prevent civil unrest and riots in the event of a Pacquiao loss because surely they will tear the place up if Manny goes down.
Well, being in Manila for the fight I can honestly say that measures are indeed being taken. "In the Philippines," a local friend tells me. "We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Manny's fight is no different." Sure enough, when Pacquiao loses people are certainly disappointed. They do the most rebellious things after the fight, like going to dinner, going bowling or going home.